Hexagon (Or How Chat Noir and Ladybug Became Fandom Famous)
by ChatNoirFilm
Summary: Who would have thought that the most popular fanfic writer and fanartist in the Ladybug and Chat Noir fandom was actually the heroes themselves?
1. Part 1 Their Origin

If Adrien had to point fingers, he'd blame Alya for everything.

No really.

He had been content with just following the Ladyblog for updates on anything and everything Ladybug did, but then Alya went and reported on stuff within the fandom as well.

Heck, he didn't even know there _was_ a Chat Noir and Ladybug fandom!

It started with one fic by PrincessFragrance. Alya swore it was a fic she only read because her friend wrote it and betaed it out of the good of her heart. She had written a genuine review and talked about how enjoyable it had been, so Adrien figured he could read it on his phone while being driven to his various activities. It would be a good way to learn what people thought about his lady and him!

It kinda snowballed from there.

One fic lead to two fics which lead to three and then all of a sudden Adrien realized it was 4 in the morning and he had been crying so much his pillow was soggy.

Adrien closed every page he had open in his browser with fanfics on it and deleted his history, vowing to never again to read a fanfic about himself.

Until the next day when he was stuck in traffic for over an hour and Alya had posted another fic review ( _This is it, I swear this is the last one I just had to read it since it was about fake dating and that is my favorite trope_ ). Hey, if he didn't do something soon he was going to die of boredom, right?

Right?

A week and god knows how many fics later, Adrien had given up trying to justify reading fan fiction. It was just… A hobby. yeah, that's the way to put it. Something he wasn't forced into doing and actually found joy in it. Even being Chat Noir was a responsibility that could be a heavy burden.

So reading fan fiction about his superhero alter ego and the girl he was in love with was Adrien's guilty pleasure, so sue him.

At least he didn't let it get to his head. Ladybug was still Ladybug and they were still only partners who protected Paris. Chat Noir still flirted with Ladybug and she still avoided his advances.

He knew that fiction would always remain fiction and that Ladybug would never love him back.

Adrien's new found fanfiction obsession didn't really become a problem until one day after his patrol with Ladybug. They did a patrol every week at random times, mainly to ease the fears of Paris. When the people saw the heroes watching over the city even when there wasn't a threat, it helped them feel safe and kept people from panicking.

For the most part, their patrols were just running around playing tag so they didn't get bored and Chat Noir making advances on Ladybug only for her to sassily dodge them.

But Ladybug must have been in a very good mood that fateful day. She coyly flirted back, flicking the bell on his collar and pulling on his tail to keep him from straying too far from her. It was driving Adrien crazy and he really just wanted to pull her close and confess everything to her.

He wanted to tell her how she was the best part of his life and made him feel like there was more to him than bending backwards to please his father. How almost all of his favorite memories included her in some way. How she was his first love and he hoped she was the only person he would ever love. He wanted to ask her to be his Lady forever.

But he couldn't.

Because behind the mask was someone he didn't even know. The girl who masqueraded as Ladybug was beautiful and confident and amazing in so many different ways, if her superhero alter ego was anything to go off of. But Adrien had no idea what her hobbies were, how old she is, or even what her name was.

And she didn't know anything about Adrien either.

And even if he trusted her completely and wanted to tell her everything, he knew Ladybug was right about hiding their civilian identities from each other.

The only way to keep a secret was to tell no one. Because the second you told one person, everyone knew. Secrets never stayed that way for long.

So Adrien had to hide everything from the person he loved the most in the world

When he got home from patrol, Adrien wrote a letter to Ladybug. He liberated himself and poured all of his anger, frustration, and longing into it. It was thousands of words long, yet it felt like Adrien had barely began to scratch the surface of the deep feelings he had for Ladybug.

But it would have to do.

He made an account ( **HerBlackCat** ) on the website he had been reading fics on and posted it. It was silly of him, he knew, but a part of him hoped that Ladybug would read it and know it was him. That maybe she would understand his pain, they would finally be able to discuss the tension that has always been between them, and Adrien could finally get closure on his crush.

And if she didn't, at least other people would know what Chat Noir was really going through behind the mask, even under the guise of fiction.

Marinette loved Alya. She really and truly did.

But sometimes that girl was just too much.

Alya often critiqued her designs. While she didn't know a lot about fashion, she had a good eye for detail and was a trusted friend. So it wasn't unusual that Alya would flip through her sketchbook without permission and scribble notes in the free space.

Marinette's sketchbook was filled with hundreds of designs for every kind of clothing imaginable. She had dreamed of going into fashion for so long that it was pretty much a habit to sketch out even the smallest bits of inspiration she got. Most of her fashions had been patterned after things found in nature. She had designed everything from peacock feather patterned socks to necklaces with bear paw charms.

But sometimes… Other sources of inspiration got sandwiched in between all the sketched outfits.

"I didn't realize you were a Chat Noir fan, Marinette," Alya giggled one day as she stopped flipping through the sketchbook's pages.

Furrowing her brows, Marinette stopped cramming for the test they were about to take in their first class to looked over her friend's shoulder to see what she was talking about. She didn't remember designing anything inspired by him-shit it was that really embarrassing portrait she doodled of him that totally emphasized his abs she was dead.

Marinette snatched her sketchbook from her friend and clutched it to her chest with a terrified expression on her face.

"Alya, please forget your ever saw that." She looked her friend in the eye, begging with her whole heart.

"Too late!" Alya grinned mischievously. "I've seen it. I can't forget it that easily."

Marinate groaned and hid her face behind her hands. "I have a lot of regrets right now."

Laughing, Alya patted her back. "At least I was the one who saw that drawing and not Chloe."

"Still," Marinette remembered how much time and attention she had put into drawing Chat Noir's abs and blushed. "I'll never be able to live this down."

"This is just going to go down as another one of your famous ' _I-Drew-In-The-Wrong-Notebook_ ' moments."

"Alya, how any times do I have to tell you that those were body studies!"

"Call it what you want," Alya teased. "But those very detailed boobs speak for themselves."

Sputtering furiously, Marinette tried to defend herself only to find that she couldn't think of anything to say. She instead put her face in her hands and groaned.

"But serious, that was a really good drawing of Chat Noir! Have you ever thought about posting your art online, Marinette?" Alya asked suddenly. The school bell rung, the girls gathered their stuff, and they began to walk to class.

Marinette shook her head. "I'm not an artist. I'm a designer. I might draw a bit, but that only because I need to keep my skills sharp."

"Well, if you ever post that drawing of Chat Noir, let me know! I'll boast you on the ladyblog!" Alya took out her phone and pulled up her blog. "The fandom around Ladybug and Chat Noir has really exploded lately. This fan art got over 40,000 notes."

Marinette took her phone and looked at the pencil drawing of Chat Noir. It was similar to the sort of thing she did just for fun to practice drawing, yet this person had gotten so much attention.

"Seriously?" Marinette blinked in surprise. "They got this many notes for such a small drawing?"

"Yep, the artist was even commissioned by the Mayor to sculpt a statue in the park." They entered their classroom and sat down in their seat. "Hey, who knows! Maybe you'll be able to design outfits for Ladybug and Chat Noir! You could totally give them an updated look! Maybe add in a cape or something!"

"…" Marinette looked at her sketchbook and touched it's cover gently as she considered. "… I'll think about posting some of my fan art."

That night, in a moment of bravery, Marinette made an account ( **MiraculousLady** ) on the same blogging website that hosted the Ladyblog and posted a picture of the Chat Noir drawing she had taken with her phone. After messaging a link to Alya, she threw her phone down on her bed and buried herself in blankets to try to ease her nerves and forget what she just did.


	2. Part 2 Comment

Plagg eyed Adrien with an even more disgusted expression than normal, but the boy was didn't even notice his kwami was in the same room as him. He was too absorbed in several documents on his computer screen spilling over with angst ridden, love lorn words for Ladybug and pictures of said muse. The clicking of keys as he furiously typed was the only noise in the empty bedroom.

"All this typing is driving me crazy," Plagg complained and stretched out on Adrien's desk with a piece of camembert to eat when he was ready. "Can't you at least put on music so I don't have to hear you hammering away all night again. Some of us would rather sleep than stay up late writing."

Adrien glanced away from his screen at Plagg but continued typing. "And others have homework they have to complete before class in the morning."

"The boy thinks I'm stupid." Plagg rolled his eyes and took a bite of cheese like it was liquor to ease his stress. "I know you're writing more sappy love letters for Ladybug."

The typing paused for moment before continuing.

"Isn't the one you wrote her for Saint Valentin enough?" Adrien said nothing. Plagg continued. "There's only so many things you can say about a girl. If you want a really diverse topic, I recommend cheese."

Adrien sighed and rubbed his eyes, realizing that his kwami wasn't going to let up so easily and let him continue writing.

"You really do know nothing of love besides cheese. I could write a thousand books for Ladybug and I still would barely scratch the surface of how much I feel for her. There aren't even enough words in all the languages in the whole world to begin to describe her perfection. To say that one love poem is enough for her…" Adrien's lips quirked up slightly. "Would be the biggest lie ever told."

Plagg shuttered in disgusted and shoved his camembert down his throat to clear his palette.

"How terrible." The kwami sniffed. "You've completely lost all sense of yourself for that girl."

"It's a wonderful feeling, Plagg, to be in love." Adrien pressed his lips thin and closed his eyes. "I wonder how much better it would feel if the love was returned."

"I still think it's a complete waste of time," Plagg sniffed before picking up his cheese and zipping across the room to where he slept. From there he was able to watch his charge without the boy noticing.

Despite how he acted, Plagg genuinely cared for Adrien and looked after his well being. And though his words about his love poem's were harsh, there was worry behind what he said to Adrien.

Ladybug was his partner. The whole purpose of Ladybug and Chat Noir was to protect the world from wrong doers. A little flirting was fine, as long as the akuma was purified at the end of the day. But with every word Adrien wrote, Plagg feared that his charge's feelings were more than just a little crush. That they might turn into something so powerful that it could poison the relationship between him and Ladybug.

If Adrien truly loved Ladybug and acted on those feelings, he could destroy the close relationship that they needed to work together and keep Paris safe.

Paris could fall if Adrien loved Ladybug.

Outside the window, the sunset and the bedroom was plunged into darkness. The only light in the room came from the bright screen of the computer. The harsh artificial light illuminated Adrien's face in place of the sun. His brows were furrowed in concentration as he typed intently. Plagg watched over his boy, muddled in his own stress and worry, until his small eyes grew heavy and he fell asleep.

An annoying buzz reverberated into Adrien's dream and he moaned as he woke up. He swung his arm to the side and slammed his alarm clock into silence. Blinking away the sleep from his eyes, Adrien pushed himself up and yawned. He slowly woke up and his brain began to work after staring into nothing for a few minutes.

His family's chef wouldn't send up his breakfast and cheese for another 15 minutes, so with one last stretch, Adrien began his morning routine. He pulled out his phone and checked the front pages of several news websites, just to be sure that no akuma had popped up in the night. However, the headlines were still covering the Jagged Stone concert that had happened a few days ago. It was surprising that that was all the news they could report, but no news was good news. Adrien would take it.

With his job out of the way, Adrien opened up the tumblr app. After fiddling around with different themes for a few hours the night before, Adrien found one that was simplistic, but fit with his aesthetic and made it easy for others to read his fics. He had gotten a couple dozen notes on them and that was so fulfilling. It was nice to know that people could appreciate him for more than his face or family.

Adrien swiped down to refresh his notifications to see if he had gotten anymore in the night. It took a second to load so Adrien reached for the glass of water he kept on his nightstand and took a sip. Turning back to his phone, he had gotten several notification and first one made Adrien choke on his water.

He had been tagged in a beautiful pencil drawing of Chat Noir lounging on a roof top in Paris. The Eiffel tower was illuminated in the background with the star-like lights of the city glittering beneath it. It was a sight that Adrien knew well from his hours of patrolling Paris.

The artist had left text beneath it.

 _"_ _I was reading HerBlackCat's fics and I loved his portrayal of Chat Noir. I had to draw a scene from his fic, Freedom!"_

Adrien rubbed the back of his neck as he kept looking back and forth between the art and the comment. Someone had liked what he wrote so much that they drew something based off it. Letting out a strangled, flustered noise, Adrien covered his face and flopped down onto his bed to try to process such an amazing thing.

Having been born into a prestigious family with his future in the modeling industry already mapped out for him, Adrien had a lot of self doubt. His whole life had been filled with wondering if it was his skill or his father's name that got him where he was today. But on his silly little blog and an alias to hid behind, he had gotten noticed regardless. And suddenly Adrien felt like he could do anything he wanted, that he didn't have to follow the road his father had paved for him.

Adrien unlocked his phone and reblogged the art. He didn't hesitate to add a small comment for the artist.

 _"_ _I'm honored to have such awesome art for my fic! You're really an amazing artist and seeing this drawing made me really happy. :)"_

 **Alya: you need to check out this fic**

 _Marinette: hoho what's this? I thought you didn't read ladybug fics, Alya_

 _Marinette: I thought you were a professional reporter_

 _Marinette: That you couldn't be in the fandom bc that wasn't what a real reporter would do_

 _Marinette: ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)_

 **Alya: Marinette**

 **Alya: Marinette please**

 _Marinette:_ ** _( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)_**

 **Alya: Okay I will admit to my sins**

 **Alya: Rose asked me to proofread her last fic and I've been been reading a bunch ever since then**

 **Alya: bUT THATS BESIDE THE POINT**

 **Alya: post/146637606994/to-my-lady-a-ladynoir-fanfic**

 _Marinette: what the heck_

 _Marinette: Alya im crying why would you send me something so sad_

 _Marinette: you're a terrible friend_

 **Alya: iSNT IT AMAZING**

 **Alya: this writer has two fics up so far and both of them are really good!**

 _Marinette: I just read the other one_

 _Marinette: omg they're such a good writer_

 _Marinette: it's so in character_

 _Marinette: Their head canon for Chat Noir is so interesting tho!_

 **Alya: yeah! like the common one is that he rides like motorcycles and smokes and it a totally rebel without a cause**

 **Alya: but i like this better**

 _Marinette: it's nice and it makes sense_

 _Marinette: he can't be over the top /all/ the time_

 _Marinette: i wouldn't be surprised if he is a goody two shoes in his secret identity_

 _Marinette: then again, he says cheesy things so easily I also wouldn't be surprised if he's a flirt_

 **Alya: either way, it's an interesting headcanon!**

 **Alya: I'm totally going to consider it when I'm trying to figure out who he is**

 **Alya: omg**

 **Alya: imagine ladybug being super clumsy**

 **Alya: like, as clumsy as you**

 _Marinette: ahaha that'd be funny_

 _Marinette: my dad's calling for my help in the bakery ill message you later_

Quickly locking her phone, Marinette sighed in relief. That was getting way too stressful for her. She loved Alya dearly and it honestly hurt her to keep the secret from her friend. But she knew she had to. This wasn't a comic where a rich man could make a super suit and the whole world would know his identity and respect it. This was real life, where her every move was being watched and a single mistake could become a deadly opening for Hawkmoth to take her down.

If Alya figured out her secret, there was a chance that other people would find out and then all of Marinette's loved ones would be targeted in akuma attacks. Any hostage situations she and Chat Noir had to deal with thus far were only motivated with the knowledge that they didn't want anyone to get hurt. But if Hawkmoth could attack closer to them, then he would.

Marinette threw her phone to the side and covered her face as she tried to fight anxiety bubbling up inside her. It was easier to just shove the burden of being Paris's savior to the side and pretend the whole thing was a light hearted game. It was better than remembering that actual lives were at stake.

Ladybug or not, Marinette was only 15.

She was still a kid.

Pulling herself out of her bed, Marinette went over to her sketchbook to try to get her mind off her worries. The first page was filled with vague human outlines in various poses, but none of them inspired any clothing designs for her to draw. The second page was more of the same. On the third, Marinette turned off her brain and let her hand sketch what ever it pleased.

The skyline of Paris filled up the page after a while, with it's ancient buildings and beautiful lights, but it was missing something. Marinette reflected on it for a moment, before knowing exactly what it was. She drew a familiar figure with black ears peaking through his blond hair and a love of the city that rivaled her own.

 _"_ _The nights when I can sneak out my bedroom windows and look out at the world are my favorite. When I can feel the wind ruffling my hair and smell the baking bread from the cafe nearby, I can forget about all my responsibilities as a civilian."_

Without meaning to, she had draw one of the scene's from the fic Alya had sent her.

It was good too. Probably one of the best illustrations Marinette had done in a while.

Grabbing her phone, Marinette found a well lit corner of her room to take a picture of it so she could post it to her blog. She had a few drawings up now and it was nice to share her art for once. She had to keep all her designs close so no one would plagiarize it like Chloe did, but her art was just a way to vent feelings. She wasn't trying to make a career out of it.

After snapping the picture, Marinette uploaded it and tagged the writer in it. As an artist, she'd want a writer to do the same if they wrote something based off her drawing. She smiled and hoped that the writer would like it.

When the sun had set several hours prior, Marinette had draw her curtains shut but now a few stars twinkled through a gap in between the pieces of fabric. It was late and even the city of Paris was a sleepy sort of quiet.

Marinette's eyes felt heavy and she yawned.

It was time for bed.

A/N: Wouldn't it be cool if the link to Adrien's blog was a really one? ;)


End file.
